‘Jurassic World: Rebirth’ composer details Jonathan Bailey’s clarinet solo

Who knew a clarinet could compete with a T. rex?

Alexandre Desplat, the Academy Award-winning French composer who created the score for “Jurassic World: Rebirth,” got help on the new dinosaur blockbuster from none other than star Jonathan Bailey himself.

Desplat recorded his suspenseful new score at London’s iconic Abbey Road Studios in April, and Bailey ended up sitting in with the orchestra and showing off his surprising clarinet skills.

“That was a strange moment,” Desplat, 63, exclusively told The Post. “He played something that was written. We were recording another piece of the film. I was conducting. Suddenly, there was this buzzing in the control room.”

“They talked about having Jonathan Bailey play the clarinet on one of the pieces,” he continued. “It was totally unexpected, and I had no idea about his clarinet level. Was it like a child level, or did he play at a professional level? I knew he had musical talent from being on stage for many years and being a great musical artist. So I took that bet.”

Besides starring as paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis in the newest “Jurassic World” movie, Bailey also provided a clarinet solo that made it into Desplat’s final score for the film.

Desplat, who has also scored movies like “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “The Shape of Water,” invited the 37-year-old star to sit in with his 105-member orchestra.

“He opened his clarinet case,” Desplat recalled. “I invited him to join the clarinet desk, which is the best player in the London scene. He sat by the first chair, and I chose a piece where there was a solo.”

Coincidentally, the part of the score that Bailey recorded his clarinet solo for ended up being one of his character’s most dramatic scenes.

“The irony is that it was one of the pieces where he is also on screen,” Desplat explained. “It’s a scene where his character sees a dinosaur and interacts with it for the first time. Before that, he was more of an academic in museums and books.”

“The clarinet plays as he touches the dinosaur for the first time,” the “Harry Potter” composer continued. “I don’t think there have been many movies where the actor is on screen in a very important moment for his character, and at the same time, is also playing the score to mirror the emotion of his own character.”

Desplat described Bailey’s “brilliant” and “beautiful” clarinet contribution to his score as a “thrill,” and revealed that the “Bridgerton” star even gave one section of the orchestra autographs once they were all finished recording.

“That is the thrill of it, to have been able to combine both the score and the actor onscreen,” the “Moonrise Kingdom” composer told The Post. “He really pulled it off brilliantly. Everybody was quite surprised that he would play.”

“He followed my direction. He played in tune with a beautiful sound,” Desplat added. “He started and ended exactly where he had to, and then the whole woodwind section asked for autographs.”

Before Desplat’s musical compositions for “Jurassic World: Rebirth,” the legendary John Williams, 93, created what is widely considered the definitive theme for the “Jurassic Park” franchise.

“Everything from John Williams is iconic, right?” Desplat noted. “Not only is it a challenge to be brought onto this huge franchise because of the legacy of John Williams’ main theme, but also because it’s a
worldwide franchise.”

“People love this world and wait for each installment,” he continued. “And each film has a lot of music. A lot of loud music.”

Still, Williams’ legacy did not stop Desplat from creating something almost completely fresh to kick off this new era of the “Jurassic World” franchise, even if it did include a few moments from Williams’ renowned score.

“It’s a total reset except for a couple of moments where Gareth Edwards, my friend and director,
wanted to quote John Williams’ iconic theme,” Desplat said. “There are a couple of moments where we offered the audience that great melody.”

“There is always some kind of cheering in the room when people hear the original theme,” he acknowledged. “But otherwise, it’s all new material.”

As for his new score, Desplat said that he hopes audiences experience it as one cohesive whole.

“The score is a long two-hour river that flows through the film,” he said. “I hope the experience of the film will be the peak of fear, the peak of ecstasy and heroic moments.”

“I hope they will feel it was all one big, epic moment,” Desplat concluded.

“Jurassic World: Rebirth,” which also stars Scarlett Johansson (Zora Bennett), Luna Blaise (Teresa Delgado) and Mahershala Ali (Duncan Kincaid), is now in theaters.